They certainly deserved a break, but of course for botanists a break means... going out looking at plants! Read on to hear Kevin's account of his and Pete's latest botanical adventure:

"Botanising on Colonsay is always an adventure and this June
was no exception for the “famous five” botanists who assembled in Oban on the
16th June: myself, Pete Stroh, David Pearman, Simon Leach and Stephen Bungard
standing in for Owen Mountford who has been a regular team member but went
earlier this year to take part in the Colonsay Spring Festival. This was our fifth
successive trip to record the flora of the island for a new Flora to update the
checklists produced by McNeill (1910) and Clarke & Clarke (1991).

David Pearman on ColonsayImage: K. Walker

"Colonsay is small by Hebridean standards; nine miles long
and four miles at its widest. It actually comprises two islands: Oransay, the
smaller of the two and reputedly the landing place for St Columb before he settled
in Iona, is connected to the “mainland” by a wide sandy bay (The Strand) which is
walkable at low tide. The geology is uniformly acid with a few bands of
limestone that outcrop in a few places (e.g. Kiloran Bay).

"It is low-lying (the
highest point is 143 m) with a rugged terrain covered in deep heather and bogs contrasting
with large expanses of tightly grazed machair on the dunes and where sand has been
blown inland. The coastline is mainly rocky, with some impressive cliffs with
large seabird colonies, and fragments of saltmarsh in less exposed locations.

Ajuga pyramidalisImage: K. Walker

"There
are about a dozen lochans, the largest of which (East, West and Middle Loch
Fada) support an internationally important aquatic flora due to its populations
of Slender Naiad (Najas flexilis). It is largely unwooded although two ancient
woods survive on its east coast, the largest (Coille Mhor) supporting a
remarkable diversity of hyperoceanic vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes and
ferns.

"Despite its small size Colonsay is a haven for wildlife. Although
most famous for its breeding bird populations which include Chough, Hen
Harrier, Golden Eagle, and Corncrake (Jardine et al., 2017) its flora is
equally impressive. Since 2014 we have recorded nearly 700 species with an average
of around 171 species per monad, despite the fact that many coastal monads only
have a small area of land.

"Although Colonsay has a number of rarities such as Irish
Lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana), Slender Naiad (Najas flexilis), Pyramidal
Bugle (Ajuga pyramidalis) and Dune Gentian (Gentianella uliginosa), it is the
abundance of the supporting cast that really grabs the attention.

"Flushes abound with
Dioecious Sedge (Carex dioica) and Pale Butterwort (Pinguicula lusitanica) and
in 2015 we found Broad-leaved Cottongrass (Eriophorum latifolium) new to the
island in a small valley mire on the east coast. "Around the coast Saltmarsh
Flat-sedge (Blysmus rufus) is almost guaranteed in reasonably sized saltmarshes
whereas Scots Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) and Roseroot (Sedum rosea) are
locally abundant on seacliffs and rocky shores.

"Hay meadows abound with Hay-rattle (Rhinanthus minor) and Euphrasia arctica
whereas E. nemorosa is widespread and E. confusa, E. tetraquetra and E. micrantha
more localised in coastal habitats and heaths. “Northerners” may be surprised
by the abundance of Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis), Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis
arvensis), and Blunt-flowered Rush (Juncus subnodulosus) and the occurrence of
Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) which still occurs in the coastal marsh
where it was discovered in 1906 (Somerville, 1907).

"Colonsay also has a large non-native element, largely due to
plantings in the policy wood at Colonsay House and Gardens, the centre of the
main estate on the island. Notable escapes include Rhododendron (Rhododendron
ponticum), which is well naturalised on moorland and bogs across the island,
American skunk-cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) and Pink Purslane (Claytonia
sibirica). Species regenerating prolifically in the policy woods themselves
include New Zealand Privet (Griselinia littoralis) and Chilean Myrtle (Luma
apiculata).

Elatine hexandraImage: K. Walker

"Although we’ve visited 79 of the 81 monads that make up the
island, we continue to make new discoveries. This year’s star finds were Six-stamened
Waterwort (Elatine hexandra) in East Loch Fada where it has been known since
the 1980s, Drosera x obovata growing amongst its parents near to Loch Cholla, Wood
Avens (Geum urbanum) in the woods near Colonsay house and Gardens and Greater
Chickweed (Stellaria neglecta) in a 100 year-old plantation near to Scalasaig. "But
possibly the most remarkable find was Meadow Thistle (Cirsium dissectum). This was
originally noticed by David Jardine in 2017 and confirmed by us after a chance
encounter between the botany and bird teams. This appears to be the most
northerly location in Britain, and just to the north of populations in similar
habitats on Islay and in Knapdale.

Kevin and David on Colonsay,testing the new Eyebright HandbookImage: P. Stroh

"But many species have yet to be re-discovered; most notably Potamogeton
x prussicus (P. alpinus x P. perfoliatus) recorded by Heslop-Harrison (1948) in
1940 and only ever recorded from one other site in Britain and Rock Samphire (Crithmum
maritimum) first recorded by Alex Somerville along with Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis
palustris) in 1906 (Somerville, 1907).

"As well as recording for the Flora we also tested out the
new BSBI Euphrasia handbook, which helped us to more tentatively differentiate
between Euphrasia confusa, E. nemorosa and E. arctica, although boundaries
between these three species appear to merge on Colonsay!

Kevin's NPMS plot on ColonsayImage: K. Walker

"I also spent half a
day recording my National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) square in the SW of
the island which was set up in 2015 with single plots in five habitats – loch
margin, acid mire, dry heath, saltmarsh and rocky shore. No significant changes
as yet but fascinating to see the subtle shifts in composition and structure
from year to year.

"One of our group has
developed a particular interest in plant galls.Prior to our visits the only gall recorded for the island was of a rust,
Puccinia magnusiana, on Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens). This year we
added eleven galls to the 53 recorded in the previous three years. Highlights
included galls of sawflies Euura auritae on Eared Willow (Salix aurita) and E.
weiffenbachii on Creeping Willow (Salix repens). As you’d expect, midge galls
also feature prominently, although some species common on the mainland seem to
be rare here, e.g. Dasineura urticae on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), which
we have so far found in only two places, despite the host plant being pretty
widely distributed around the island. Another striking midge gall we were
particularly pleased to find was that of Contarinia tiliarum on Lime (Tilia sp.)
trees in the estate woodlands around Colonsay House.

Drosera intermedia on ColonsayImage: K. Walker

"Last but not least, Pittosporum species/cultivars
planted in the gardens around Colonsay House have galls of Trioza vitrioradiata;
this psyllid gall was first recorded in Britain in 1993, in Cornwall, and has
since been spreading north and east. We were surprised to find it on Colonsay, at
what must be the very northern limit of its current distribution in the UK.

"We also saw a few new birds (for us) on the island,
including a pair of Whinchat and an Iceland Gull which was feeding on the
carcass of a 70 ft Sei Whale that had been washed up on Kiloran beach in
December.

"All in all we had another fantastic week on this Hebridean
gem of an island – it is always sad to leave but this year our spirits were
raised by a pod of Minke Whales breaching not far from the ferry; our first in
five trips and well worth the wait! Next year we plan to see basking
sharks…maybe…